Fred Castrovinci is confident Valley Bank has the services to meet the banking needs of
anyone in the film industry — whether it be short-term lending, cash-management tools or
anything a production company would need when they film in New Jersey.
But that’s not the reason why Castrovinci brought more than a half-dozen of his
colleagues to the 2026 N.J. Film Expo last week at the old Meadowlands Arena.
His group came to underscore the fact that Valley has the connections to bring anyone
involved in the sector anything they need.
“Being the largest bank headquartered in New Jersey gives us an amazing ecosystem
of businesses and chamber partnerships that we can lean on to help people connect to
the other businesses they need in addition to the day-to-day banking services,” he said.
Castrovinci, Valley Bank’s N.J. regional president for middle market commercial and
business banking, said the connections Valley has are a differentiator.
“If someone comes here from out of state and they need something, we can help them
get it,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, because in this business, delays
cost you money. We help prevent that.
“We want to leverage that for the industry.”
Castrovinci is confident the need is there — and growing. He need not look any further
than the more than 5,000 people and nearly 100 vendors who came to the second
version of what has become an annual expo.
“The amount of businesses here — from lighting companies to catering services to
hospitality to production and props, you name it — is going to make this a $3 billion
industry,” he said. “This industry is booming, and we want to be here from the start,
creating relationships through the Screen Alliance of New Jersey.
“We’re very excited for this; we want to help out in any way we can.”
Castrovinci is convinced the film industry can become another vertical for the bank.
Valley Bank is here to serve, he said.
“If you need food to feed your crew, no matter where you are in the state, we can help
you get what you need,” he said. “I can’t think of anything more important than that.”
